


Double Indemnity

by CassDiV



Series: Noir [2]
Category: Dong Bang Shin Ki
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-18
Updated: 2011-02-18
Packaged: 2017-10-15 18:26:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/163624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassDiV/pseuds/CassDiV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Shim comes up with a plan to free his newest client.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Double Indemnity

**Author's Note:**

> This is the followup to "Through the High Window" which was a gift for EMDA for the 2010 nuna_fanworks holiday fic challenge. I just couldn't leave it there. (Of course, I couldn't!!!) Eliza was my faithful beta, as usual!
> 
> Title taken from the film of the same name.

The gunfire lit the room for a moment, then it was dark once more. Changmin moved to cover Jaejoong's mouth with one hand--sometimes adrenaline could override intention, and it all hung on those listening believing he'd just killed their blackmailer. Jaejoong's eyes were wide, but he stayed silent, nodding as Changmin released his mouth and backed away.

Changmin went to the windows and quickly pulled the blinds. He opened a drawer in his desk and rummaged around, opened another and did the same. Then he reached for a small box sitting on one of his bookshelves and flipped a switch. An almost inaudible high pitch burst came out, then his ears adjusted and he turned back to Jaejoong.

"Any listening device will be jammed now," he said quietly. He put his gun within reach on the desk and grabbed for his clothes. "Get dressed. We've got to get you out of here." They both hurriedly pulled their clothes back on. Changmin was adjusting his holster on his shoulders when Jaejoong finished, and he pointed to a closet door. "Body bag," he said, and Jaejoong opened the closet and began rooting through piles.

He held something up. "This it?"

"Yes," Changmin answered, went over to take it from him, shake it, and lay it out on the floor. Jaejoong stood watching him for a moment, then leaned down. Changmin caught his arm, and he straightened.

"You don't want me to get in it?" Jaejoong asked.

Changmin smiled. "You can if you like, but I was planning on tossing it down the stairs full of whatever I could stuff into it."

Jaejoong looked relieved, but confused. "What about getting me out of here?"

Changmin reached for a set of keys hanging on a hook nearby. "Here," he said, giving them to Jaejoong. "Once I've left, you will go downstairs, into the empty offices on the first floor. In the same closet in the back room, there is a trap door in the floor. One of those keys opens it. You'll climb down into an underground bunker."

"What then?"

Changmin was already starting to shove stuff into the body bag. "Then you wait for me to come back." Changmin knew this was going to be one of the most difficult parts of the case for Jaejoong, but it had to be done.

"How long?" Jaejoong asked after a few minutes. "How long am I going to have to stay there?"

"Until there's no reason for you to be dead any longer." Jaejoong nodded. Changmin waited for the question he knew was coming.

"What if you don't come back?" Jaejoong asked at last.

Changmin finished filling the bag so that it looked like a body about Jaejoong's size, and zipped it closed. "I'll come back," He told Jaejoong, standing and turning to face him. "And when I do, you're going to tell me exactly how you got into this mess."

Changmin carried the 'body' down the darken stairwell and out the back to his car, lugging and bending as though it were really Jaejoong inside. Once the bag was in his trunk, he locked the back door and took off in the direction of one of his safehouses, praying Jaejoong made it to safety without being seen.

He drove circles around several parts of the city, but could make out no tails. So, at last, he pulled into the parking garage for his safehouse, parked and lugged out the bag. Tossing it over his shoulder, he found the keys for the door and let himself inside.

It had been several weeks since he'd been there, just before he'd taken the blackmail case. He tossed the bag down in the hall, and went for his desk phone. He dialed the number, and sat down in his chair for the conversation.

"Mr. Lee," he said when there was an answer. "Yes, hello. This is Detective Shim. Yes, I have some very good news, and would like to meet with you as soon as possible to share it." He listened for a moment, heard what he expected. "My offices?" He nodded. "Of course. Tomorrow morning would be ideal." More of what he expected. "I will see you at 10 a.m. then. Looking forward to it. Good-night, Mr. Lee." Changmin hung up the phone.

He made several more phone calls, then decided to shower and return to Jaejoong. He pulled on jeans and boots this time, gave up the button-down for a henly, grabbed his coat and gun, and locked the door behind him. He made one stop at an all-night grocery on his way back, gathered enough supplies to last a couple of days, and making sure once more that he had no tail, parked back at his office.

The back door was still locked, and he went inside. He heard no noise from upstairs, so he went into the downstairs office suite and put the groceries down in the back room next to the closet. Quietly he went back out and up the stairs, found his office door locked, as he'd instructed Jaejoong to do when he left. Slipping inside, he saw no one, and everything seemed to be where they'd left it. He reached up to the ceiling fan and pulled the bug off, dropped it to the ground and stomped on it. Then he flipped off the jamming device, took one more look around before gathering the files he needed, locking up again and descending the stairs.

The trap door was locked, and he unlocked it quickly, pulled it open. He'd oiled it well-enough that there was no noise in the hinges, and he set it silently against the back wall of the closet. It was dark inside, and he let himself worry for the first time that maybe Jaejoong hadn't made it. He dangled the bags of groceries, then dropped them to the floor of the bunker one after another before climbing down in, and pulling the door shut above him, throwing the lock.

He saw it wasn't completely dark inside: there was a candle burning on one of the tables further in. He didn't see Jaejoong, so he headed for the bedroom in the back. He could hear the shower running in the en-suite bath, so he flipped on the light next to the bed, took off his coat and boots, and went into the bathroom.

Jaejoong was standing naked under the spray, both hands on the wall, with his head lowered and his eyes closed. He looked up when Changmin stepped into the room, ran a hand over his face and through his hair.

"I'm back," Changmin told him. "I brought food if you want anything."

Jaejoong nodded. "Thanks," he answered. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

It was Changmin's turn to nod. He wanted to stay, to see if Jaejoong would invite him to join him, but he knew that their game upstairs was over now. He also knew he was stalling, but still he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Jaejoong answered, "Yeah. I'm glad you're here." He glanced up at the showerhead. "It was too quiet," he said, meeting Changmin's eyes. "I just needed...something."

Changmin understood. "I'll get us some drinks," he offered, turning to go.

"Hey," Jaejoong said to his back, "Detective."

He turned around. "What?"

"Thanks for killing me," Jaejoong said quietly. Changmin could see the relief in his eyes.

He nodded. "My pleasure," he added, and meant it.

When Jaejoong joined him in the kitchen a few minutes later, Changmin had poured drinks for them both and set out some food. He'd blown out the candle and turned on the lights, the heat, and the air circulation for the bunker. The files were at his elbow, and he was ready to find out just how deep the water was he'd jumped into.

"Shit," Jaejoong remarked appearing in jeans and bare feet. "You don't mess around."

Changmin offered him a seat, and Jaejoong took it. "Not when it comes to a ticking clock," he answered, taking a bite of his dinner and nodding for Jaejoong to help himself.

Jaejoong took a long drink of the beer Changmin had set out for him, and reached for his coat, thrown over the couch nearby. "Can I smoke?" he asked, producing cigarettes from a pocket.

Changmin motioned at his own pack resting atop the files, and slid an ashtray across the table. "Be my guest."

"Thanks," Jaejoong said, flicking a lighter and holding the flame between two hands to light his cigarette. He took a long drag and held it, exhaling slowly and sitting back against the chair. "So," he said, watching Changmin eat. "Where do we start?"

Changmin finished chewing, set his chopsticks down and pulled a pad of paper and pen out of the pile of files. Then he opened the files one by one, removed a photograph, and laid them out on the table facing Jaejoong. Jaejoong continued to smoke his cigarette and drink his beer, not even looking at the photographs until Changmin finished. "Names," Changmin said, all business.

It was then Jaejoong looked down at the pictures. There were five total and each one featured Jaejoong intimately entangled with another individual. He didn't flinch or even show a hint of embarassment. "Heiress," he started, putting a finger on the first photo, "Hyun Jiyeon. Banker, Jong Hubin. Broker, actress, doctor," he went through the rest as though he'd been reciting them over and over to himself.

Changmin copied everything down, then asked, "And how many before I started to follow you?"

"Seven," Jaejoong answered, giving those details as well without hesitation. "You were to be lucky number thirteen."

Changmin put his pen down and met Jaejoong's eyes. "How long have you been involved in this?"

"Almost four months."

"You know what I'm going to ask next."

Jaejoong tapped his cigarette on the rim of the ashtray. "I was in a relationship with a man in a very high profile, very high ranking public position." He swallowed and thought for a moment. "Four months ago an envelope arrived at our usual hotel room--it was slid under the door. Inside were photographs of us together, and a demand for payment unless he wanted to see the end of his career."

"Does he know that you're paying his blackmail in kind?"

Jaejoong tilted his head. "No and yes. Shortly after I began to work for the blackmailers, they sent him photographs of me with several marks." He shrugged one shoulder. "Needless to say, he broke things off."

Changmin nodded. "I need a name."

Jaejoong didn't answer. He tapped his foot against the floor, shifted in his seat and crossed his legs.

"If you're going to trust me to--" Changmin started.

"Jung Yunho."

Changmin raised his eyebrows at that. "The assistant D.A.?"

Jaejoong sighed. "The very same."

 _Shit._

He understood much better now why Jaejoong had chosen to do what he'd done. They sat in silence, Jaejoong finishing his cigarette, Changmin sipping his drink and processing this new piece of the puzzle.

The assistant district attorney wasn't a friend of his, per say, but they knew one another, and Changmin could even say favorable things about the man. He was mostly honest, sure, but more, he wasn't power hungry to the point he abused his position. Changmin didn't know he had a taste for men, but--he thought--most people didn't know he himself did either. Which begged the question.

"How did your employers know I'd take your bait?"

"I wasn't told much," Jaejoong admitted, "But they seemed certain. Said they'd paid a source good money for the information."

Changmin mulled this over. He and any lovers he'd had were more than discreet. Hell, he hadn't been with anyone since--

 _Oh Shit._

"I need to know everything about the men you work for," Changmin said quickly, picking up his pen. "We've got maybe twelve hours at most to get everything in motion."

"They're businessmen," Jaejoong started, "Or at least they pretend to be. One goes by Lee and the other by Han." Changmin nodded. So far, this was what he'd expected.

"Where do they do business?"

"They own a building in Myeongdong's commercial district. That's where I first went to make the deal, and where I'd go to get the information on each mark."

"Did you ever see the photographs or where they stored the blackmail materials?"

Jaejoong reached again for his coat. He parted the inner lining and pulled out an envelope. "These are the only photographs I've ever seen." He pushed the packet across the table toward Changmin. "I was never allowed to go anywhere else in the building but the front offices. Han was always there when I arrived, but Lee would come in from the back part of the building."

Changmin could tell Jaejoong was trying to give him anything to help. He nodded, and put his hand on the envelope. "You're doing good," he told Jaejoong, sliding it closer. He opened the envelope, and noticed that now, Jaejoong did look away.

These pictures were different. Intimate still, yes, but...Changmin felt like he was intruding even looking at them. There was more than sex here. Jaejoong with his head thrown back in laughter, Jung Yunho touching Jaejoong's face fondly. He cleared his throat, and placed them back in the envelope. Jaejoong was tapping his pack of cigarettes on the table, and stopped when Changmin set the envelope back in front of him.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Changmin asked. It was none of his business, but damn. He knew love when he saw it.

Jaejoong's eyes lit with anger and not a little pride. "I'm a fucking musician," he said to Changmin. "I may be the next closest thing to a prostitute, but I'll be damned if I cost him his career."

Changmin took a cigarette out of his own pack and lit it. "So you let him think you _are_ a prostitute, and make him throw you out of his life instead?"

"Fuck you," Jaejoong shot at him.

"Already done that," Changmin said calmly.

"I was trying to protect him!" Jaejoong yelled.

"And you still are," Changmin agreed. "I get that, but Jaejoong--How's he going to react when he thinks you're dead?"

It was like a punch in the stomach; Changmin watched as Jaejoong crumpled internally. "Oh god," he whispered. "You think they'll tell him?"

Changmin nodded. "I know they will." He stood up and cleared his plate. "And we're going to help them."

"How?" Jaejoong asked. "Why?"

"I'm going to need to take some photographs of you," Changmin explained. "To show Mr. Lee and Mr. Han when they show up tomorrow morning. Proof that their blackmailer will no longer be a problem."

"You mean, proof that I'm dead."

"Yes."

"And then they'll take them to Yunho?"

Changmin opened a drawer and took out a couple of small cases. "They're already going to take what they have to him. Your voice, mine, the entire encounter ending with a gunshot, and likely pictures of me loading your body into the car." He brought them to the table and began shoving things back into folders to make space. "This way, we can control the process a little more, get his attention focused faster."

"You don't know what he'll do," Jaejoong said after a moment. "You've never seen him livid."

"So tell me," Changmin said, sitting down again across from Jaejoong.

"He's extremely protective of what's his."

"You think that still includes you?"

Jaejoong looked uncertain. "I think my death might negate the past four months."

"In other words," Changmin said, opening the cases to poke around at makeup, "He still loves you, and he might be willing to bend a few laws to get whoever did this to you."

"Detective," Jaejoong started.

"Changmin," Changmin interrupted. "Please."

"Changmin," Jaejoong tried hesitantly, "If he thinks you killed me after we fucked, and he has evidence of that..." He trailed off, then, "You might not have time to set anything straight."

Changmin smiled. Jaejoong looked at him like he was insane. "Give me a safeword."

"A what?"

"Some kind of secret code. A word that will stop him instantly. Something he will know could only come from you."

"Oh." Jaejoong was quiet for a minute. Then he said, "Elephant."

"Elephant," Changmin repeated. "You're sure. He'll know it's you?"

"I'm sure," Jaejoong affirmed. He seemed tired. Changmin nodded.

"Let's get this done with and get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Jaejoong sat still while Changmin applied the makeup to create a gunshot wound. Changmin explained that they would stage the photos so it would be easy to make out that it was indeed Jaejoong while still keeping the details of the wound at a minimum. When he'd finished, he moved the furniture out of the way, pulled up the rug, and studied the floor for a few minutes.

"Alright," he said at last, seeing the best way to take the photographs. He went to another drawer and pulled out red dye, searched the cupboards for corn syrup. Jaejoong sat on the couch and smoked another cigarette, waited. When he had an adequate amount mixed, Changmin turned back to Jaejoong. "Take your pants off," he told him. "Lie down right here."

Jaejoong did as he was told. Changmin went to a closet in the hall and got a camera, film and flashbulbs.

Jaejoong was barely breathing while they took the pictures, lying still as Changmin poured the "blood" on and around him, keeping his eyes exactly where Changmin directed. It was when Changmin changed the roll of film, and Jaejoong didn't even stir, he began to worry.

"Hey," he said softly, putting the camera down and kneeling beside Jaejoong, "It's almost over." He ran his knuckles along Jaejoong's arm, and Jaejoong shuddered.

"I know," Jaejoong whispered. "Let's just finish."

Changmin agreed. He stood up again and took the second roll of film to be sure he had the shots. When the last flashbulb popped, he went and got a towel from the closet. "Here," he said, kneeling again, and wiping at Jaejoong's neck and shoulder. "I'm sorry to make you shower again."

Jaejoong sat up, took the towel. "It's not the most enjoyable thing I've had to do twice today." Jaejoong murmured. "But I don't mind."

Changmin found himself warming with the intended innuendo. "You could have that again too, if you wanted," he said, surprising himself.

Jaejoong went very still, face in the towel. Changmin swallowed and stood up, kicked himself for his rather unbelieveable ability to compartmentalize a little too well. Until Jaejoong reached out a hand and grabbed his leg. Changmin waited while Jaejoong moved to stand up and face him.

"Believe me when I say," Jaejoong whispered, "Being with you was incredibly enjoyable under any circumstances." Changmin smiled, felt a pang of jealousy at what he knew was coming. Jaejoong winced. "Until I know where I stand with Yunho, until all of this is over, I just...I can't."

"I understand," Changmin told him. And he did, maybe too well to have made the offer. He'd watched Jaejoong have sex with five people--six, including himself--none of whom Jaejoong had willing chosen.

Jaejoong nodded, picked up his jeans and started toward the bedroom.

"I'm sorry," Changmin whispered. If Jaejoong heard it, he didn't stop. A moment later Changmin heard the water running in the shower, and turned back to the business at hand.

He pulled the film from the camera, and went to shut the door to the bedroom, then adjusted the lights in the main room with red filters. Within half an hour, he knew he had viable photos for the morning. He hung them all to dry, then began cleaning the mess he'd made on the floor. The shower stopped, and he went back into the bedroom.

Jaejoong stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, rubbing at his hair.

Changmin smiled at him. "I've got a darkroom set up out there, so no lights for a while." He moved his coat and boots away from the bed. "Do you need anything?"

"Sleep," Jaejoong answered.

"Then I'll leave you to it," Changmin said.

"Changmin," Jaejoong said quietly, calling him back once again. He turned and watched uncertainty flood Jaejoong's eyes. "Why did you help me?"

"Because you asked," Changmin answered easily.

Jaejoong ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I mean, I know. And I'm really--"

"Jaejoong," Changmin cut him off. Any more and he was going to be sick. "You owe me nothing." _Shit._ It took a great deal of control to _not_ go over to him, to touch and reassure. "This became my problem too," he offered weakly. "You owe me nothing at all," he repeated.

Jaejoong nodded. "It's been a rough four months," he said with a hint of a smile. Changmin saw it for a kind of apology. "Even for me."

"You're out now," Changmin reminded him. _And tomorrow you're going to talk to your lover,_ he reminded himself.

"Yeah," Jaejoong said again. "Yeah."

"Sleep," Changmin told him, going to the door. "I'll wake you in the morning." Changmin didn't give Jaejoong a chance to pull him back into the room with another question, but left as quickly as he could.

Changmin spent the next few hours checking his details, finishing the photographs, and cleaning up the various messes he'd made that night. For a few minutes he considered going out, but quickly dismissed that at the thought of Jaejoong finding him gone. Morning would come soon enough, and things would start moving fast then.

He settled in on the couch with a blanket and pillow, set an alarm clock, and dropped into sleep.

Changmin woke to the smell of coffee and the sound of short inhales and exhales. He turned his head to see Jaejoong doing pushups on the kitchen floor. Changmin let himself watch for a few moments, then yawned and stretched, turned off the alarm clock, made a small show of waking up.

"You're awake," Jaejoong said, jumping to his feet in a rush. "I'm sorry. I meant to just get some coffee and go back--"

"Jaejoong," Changmin smirked at him. "I haven't had my coffee yet. You can save the apologies for when I'm awake, or I really will be annoyed at you." Jaejoong opened his mouth, then shut it again. Changmin clapped a hand on his shoulder as he walked past him toward the bedroom. "Wise decision," he teased, disppearing into the bathroom.

When he returned to the kitchen, he found a cup of coffee waiting for him on the table, and Jaejoong stiring his own cup, wearing one of Changmin's shirts he'd found in the bedroom closet.

"Do you mind?" he asked, picking up the fabric over his chest and holding it out.

"Only if you're going to apologize for it," Changmin quipped, reaching for his cup and falling into the chair across from Jaejoong.

Jaejoong smiled into his own cup, but said nothing. After a few minutes, Changmin began to feel somewhat more himself, and motioned toward a phone across the room.

"I'm going to call you when I'm with Yunho and it's okay to talk," he told Jaejoong. "I'll ring once, then hang up. Twice, then hang up. The third time I'll let it ring through and you'll know it's me and it's safe to answer."

"You think he'll want to talk to me?" Jaejoong asked, a little unsettled.

"He'll want proof of life at the very least, if he's at all what you describe," Changmin said. "The rest," he shook his head. "The rest is for the two of you to determine when this is all over.

"Would you take me back?" Jaejoong asked. Changmin's head snapped up to meet his gaze. "If it were you, I mean. Us." He tried again. "Would you take me back knowing everything I've done?"

"Do you mean the part where you slept with people to get them blackmailed," Changmin asked softly, "Or the part where you didn't tell me why you were doing it?"

Jaejoong studied his hands, clenched a fist. "Both," he said at last. "Either."

Changmin nodded slowly, finished his coffee, and stood up to put his cup in the sink. He paused for a moment on his way to the bedroom. "I'd take you back," he said softly, "But I'm not certain I would have let you go in the first place." He left Jaejoong with that and went to take a shower.

Showered and dressed in work clothes once again, Changmin emerged from the bedroom to see Jaejoong looking at the pictures he'd chosen for his "clients."

"I really look dead," Jaejoong said absently.

"That was the idea." Changmin fitted his shoulder holster around his back and adjusted it before checking his gun and putting it in the holster.

"What if Lee or Han shoot you?" Jaejoong asked suddenly, turning.

"They won't," Changmin said. "They have too much to lose by making that big a mistake."

"Yeah, but what if--"

"Hey," Changmin said, coming over to him. "Stop worrying about what could happen. Let me do my job, alright?"

"I hate waiting for you to come back," Jaejoong told him. "I hate waiting for you not to come back."

Changmin sighed, but sat down, took the photos out of Jaejoong's hands and slid them back into an envelope. "If I don't come back," he said very seriously, "This is what you do." Jaejoong looked up and met his eyes. "You wait. 24 hours. Then you go to Yunho. You tell him everything you know. You give him these files." He tapped the pile on the table. "You give him those photographs," he pointed at Jaejoong's coat. "And you give him a name."

Jaejoong swallowed. "Okay," he said, nodding. "Okay."

"Park Yoochun," Changmin told him. He picked up a pen and wrote it down on a piece of paper along with a short notation.

"What does that mean?" Jaejoong asked.

Changmin put the pen down and gave Jaejoong a tight smile. "Jung Yunho will know."

He left the bunker while Jaejoong seemed satisfied with the answers to his questions, heard it lock behind him. He closed the closet door halfway, and stepped out of the office, listening all the while for any noise from another part of the bulding. There was nothing.

He unlocked the front door, and went up the stairs to his office. This door too was still locked, and nothing seemed to have moved from where he left it the night before. He still had half an hour before Mr. Lee and Mr. Han arrived, and he needed to straighten up and cover the bullet hole.

At ten o'clock sharp, he heard them on the stairs, and sat behind his desk, ready. They entered the outer offices, just as they had the first time when they came to hire him, and knocked on the window to his office. Two raps. Changmin waited a moment, watching their outlines through the frosted glass, schooling the majority of his rage.

"Come," he called.

They came in and he stood. They all bowed to one another and Changmin invited them to take the chairs across from him.

"I'll make this short, gentlemen," he told them. "The blackmailer you hired me to uncover for you is dead." He reached for the envelope of pictures and handed it across the desk to Mr. Han. The two men shared a look before Mr. Lee took the envelope out of Mr. Han's hands and opened it. He pulled the photos out, flipped through several of them, then handed them over to Mr. Han once again.

"You are certain this is the man?" Mr. Lee asked.

"I followed him for three weeks," Changmin answered. "During that time, I watched him interact with several others who later received the same blackmail threat that you did." Changmin sat back in his chair and watched Mr. Han attempt to cover his nervousness at seeing the pictures. "As you can see for yourself, he won't be blackmailing you any longer."

"What happened to him?" Mr. Han ventured to ask.

"Apparently, he attempted to blackmail the wrong individual," Changmin said. "A matter for other parties to deal with." He stood. "Now if you will excuse me, gentlemen, I have several pressing matters to attend to."

"I'm certain you do, Detective," Mr. Lee murmured, standing.

Mr. Han stood up, scooting the chair against the floor and flinched a little at the sound. "You will send us a bill, of course," he managed to say as they turned toward the door still clutching the envelope.

"Of course," Changmin answered, moving to open the door for them. "As we agreed."

"Good day," Mr. Lee said, bowing his head in response to Changmin's slight bow.

"Good-bye," Mr. Han muttered, hurrying past Changmin to follow Mr. Lee down the stairs. Changmin listened for them to exit the building, watched them argue on the street before they got into a car and drove away. He knew the clock was ticking.

And not just for him. He was gambling on Lee and Han making it to the district attorney's office before they were snapped up in a trap they set for themselves when they paid for the information on his bedmates. Yes, he was extremely cautious for what it could do to him socially, but being as the last partner he'd had was also the head of a mafia family...well. In that respect, his caution kept him alive as well. Lee and Han had bought the wrong information from a very dead man.


End file.
